Internet-based operations can disrupt companies in their internationalization processes

What did you do before you started your PhD and how have your time been at Dalarna University?     
– I worked at a global consulting company in Brazil and spent some time in Academia doing research with a major local university. I enjoyed the people and the environment at Dalarna University a lot. I worked with great people and made many friends during this period. This is the type of experience that enriches you both professionally and personally.  

What is your thesis and research about?  
– It focuses on the adoption of non-predictive strategies by small and medium-sized enterprises during foreign expansion, considering some of its influential factors and outcomes. Since it is impossible to talk about firm internationalization nowadays without acknowledging that we live in complex times, my doctoral thesis discusses how non-predictive decision-making interacts with institutional and network challenges that tend to be amplified by deglobalization and the COVID-19 pandemic.    

What are your main results and most important findings?    
– The discussion promoted in this thesis indicates that the performance of non-predictive strategies can be strengthened when small and medium-sized enterprises enter developed countries, but this seems to be an effect limited to larger enterprises. It is questionable whether this effect holds true in a context where we see that it is not only emerging markets that have institutional challenges. Besides that, the positive effect that business networks generally have on firm internationalization can be disrupted by the expansion of internet-based activities and the crisis of trust that we have seen affecting markets.  

Why is your research important and what use do the society have for this new knowledge?    
– This research is one of the first attempt in bringing together the decision-making that guides small and medium-sized enterprises internationalization also the institutional and network challenges of internationalization processes. This is a discussion that we need to see more often if we want to give firms advice that remains relevant in our times.  

What will you do now after completing your dissertation? 
– I am returning to Brazil where I plan to work in the interface between the private sector and academic institutions.  

Decision-making strategies of internationalization under challenging times : Lessons from SMEs (diva-portal.org)